Today’s Top Stories
1. On Wednesday, one day after UNESCO’s executive board ratified the controversial resolution denying Jewish connections to Jerusalem, 15 Christian parliamentarians from Europe, Africa and Latin America visited the Tomb of the Patriarchs and other parts of Jewish Hebron in a striking affirmation of support for the Jewish claim to the Holy Land. This is the first time such a group has visited this site, and they did so despite strong Palestinian opposition. One member of the group, an MP from South Africa, said that the Palestinian pressure against this visit to a Jewish holy site reminded him of the days when South African apartheid restricted his freedom of movement. In yesterday’s IDNS we noted two analysts who believe the UNESCO resolution was actually a defeat for Palestinians: because it highlighted the absurdity of their claims to the world and also revealed a change in voting patterns at the UN, even among nations who traditionally supported similar resolutions against Israel. Is this trip an example of that very “changing of the tide” to which the two analysts were referring?
In Hebron, South Africa MP said Palestinian pressure not to visit reminded him of apartheid when they restricted his freedom of movement pic.twitter.com/uLTG1ye1tc
— Raphael Ahren (@RaphaelAhren) October 19, 2016
2. NPR reports that an Israeli computer program is able to scour social media to predict when a Palestinian might be preparing to carry out a terror attack. Palestinian 19 year old Jorine Qadeh was arrested and held for three months after posting a poem on Facebook. She says that this Israeli security measure creates fear of using Facebook, frustration and anger among Palestinians. On the other hand, Quadeh also explains that she wrote that particular poem “because I was preparing for death.” Suicide is taboo in Palestinian society, so Palestinian youth who seek death often do so by attacking Israeli soldiers or civilians. So it seems Quadeh’s arrest may very well have prevented her from carrying out a terror attack.
3. Israel’s reconciliation with Turkey may have been partly related to natural gas. Last week, Yuval Steinitz became the first Israeli minister to visit Turkey since 2010. But in an interesting twist, Steinitz is not the Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs but rather Israel’s Minister of National Infrastructure, Energy and Water Resources. He had apparently come to Turkey to discuss the possibility of a gas pipeline between the two countries. At the moment, Russia supplies around 56% of Turkey’s gas but Turkey downed a Russian jet in November 2015 after it apparently entered Turkish airspace. Is it possible that Turkey is suddenly feeling insecure about relying so heavily on Russia?
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Israel and the Palestinians
• In the wake of Israel based NGO “B’Tselem’s highly critical presentation against Israel to the United Nations Security Council, Riyad Mansour, Palestinian ambassador to UN has been pushing that same body for a resolution against Israeli settlements. Unlike the recent UNESCO resolution, Security Council resolutions have the potential to create immediate, real-world consequences, such as sanctions or even military action. However, it appears that in light of recent pressure from France, Palestinians are considering whether to abandon this particular campaign.
• It’s not longer making top headlines, but terrorism is still continuing from time to time. This week Israeli police arrested 10 Arab youth’s for throwing rocks from a rooftop in the Old City of Jerusalem, and an attempted stabbing attack was thwarted at Tapuah Junction in the West Bank.
Mideast Matters
• Ever wonder how terror groups support themselves? In addition to its ongoing support from Iran, it seems Hezbollah has gotten itself involved in the South American drug trade. In this case, a number of Hezbollah associates illegally moved $500,000 through Miami banks via a series of complicated financial transactions stretching from Australia to Europe. These particular players were arrested by the DEA (America’s Drug Enforcement Agency) as well as the South Florida Money-Laundering Strike Force.
• Syria is suffering ‘a small holocaust,’ according to Israel’s chief rabbi. Rabbi Yitzchak Yosef says, “Millions of refugees are homeless, hundreds of thousands of others are starved, under siege …they are human beings who are suffering a small holocaust.” Yosef adds that Jews who had endured the Holocaust and the murder of six million people as “the world looked on and remained silent,” must not do so now.
Around the World
• A California man was sentenced to 30 years in prison for recruiting for Islamic State, and even arranging for recruits to travel from the United States to Syria. Two of the men in question, who were arrested last year, shared their support for the Islamic State in conversation and on social media. In recorded conversations, the pair discussed how it would be a blessing “to die in the battlefield,” according to the US Attorney’s office.
• North Korea carried out another failed nuclear missile test, but experts warn the technology could be operative as soon as next year. In 2007, North Korea provided nuclear technology to Syria, which was at the time under control of Bashar Assad. Israeli forces carried out the top secret Operation Orchard which destroyed Syria’s nuclear reactor while it was still under construction.
Commentary/Analysis
• Is the Palestinian Authority’s “moderate” Fatah party preparing to go to war against Israel? Khaled Abu Toameh thinks so.
• Was the UNESCO resolution a victory for Palestinians? Ben-Dror Yemini doesn’t think so: he says that the resolution is one more example of Palestinian self deception. Yemini’s take: by scoring hollow PR victories instead of achieving real-world improvements, Palestinians are actually achieving defeats rather than victories.
• Here’s what else I’m reading today . . .=
– Al Arabiya: Iran boasts of its interference in the Middle East.
– Washington Post: Russia completes integrated air defense system in Syria.
– Times of Israel: A review of Jewish history through archaeology on the site of the Temple Mount.
For more, see yesterday’s Israel Daily News Stream and join the IDNS on Facebook.
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